Clouds Of Laughter
by Coaxed
Summary: He was the knight in shining armor Candace had always wanted and waited for. But was he hiding something ugly behind that solid shield of gold?
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter One_

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"I may just…be paranoid…but, is there someone else… you love?" The timid blue haired girl asked, fiddling uncomfortably with her long gray skirt, unable to look up at him.

A face flitted across Kevin's mind as she asked the question, but he closed his eyes and sighed, removing the image from his head, before turning to smile down at the girl standing beside him.

"Candace," he said, reaching out to touch her warm face. He turned her head towards his as he leaned down silently to kiss her lips. "I love _you."_

Her face flushed red as he looked down into her eyes; and she quickly turned her head away, breaking their gaze. "Mm, yeah… me too," she said softly, twiddling her fingers, "No…I mean, I don't love me also…well…what I meant was…um…"

Kevin laughed lightly, turning her head towards him again. "You love me too," he finished for her.

"...Yeah."

He bent down once more and quickly touched his lips to hers, before taking a step backwards as he offered out his hand to her. "I'll take you home," he said smiling. She stepped forward and accepted his hand shyly.

His words rang clearly in her head. _I love you, _he'd said_. _It was not the first time he had told her, but no matter how many times the words left his lips, it felt no different than the first. She would always blush, always stutter, and always smile at that one simple line.

And now, as they walked casually down the street together, hands entwined, she worried he could feel her heart that pounded madly against her chest. It wouldn't calm itself down, too nervous, too scared, and too happy to stop.

If it were not for her heart that sped crazily within her, perhaps she could have thought of something to say. But at the moment, that was far beyond her level of composure.

She often wondered if he found her boring. She rarely had much to say, and she was as dull in personality as she was in looks. He could have ended up with someone much more exciting. Though, for some odd reason, he never seemed to realize this. Or if he did, he had decided not to follow that route. She wasn't sure which of the two she would prefer.

But either way, it didn't matter. Because he had chosen her.

Stopping in front of her door, he smiled warmly down at her. Her heart fluttered, but she attempted to ignore it as she opened her mouth to speak. "Do you want to…come in, and…say hello…to everyone?" She asked him as she reached out and tugged lightly at the arm of his sleeve, not able to look up and meet his eyes, but not wanting to part from him just yet.

He paused and glanced at the door, a small stream of light coming out from underneath, signaling the presence of someone inside. "Maybe tomorrow," he told her, leaning down and touching his lips to her forehead. She nodded her head, embarrassed as she let go of his sleeve.

"Okay," she said, waving a small and barely visible hand goodbye to him as he turned to walk away. "Tomorrow."

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I recently noticed how huge the Angela to Kevin story ratio is. Kevin doesn't even have his name in the character list, while apparently "Rebecca", who I haven't even ever heard of and am not completely sure is actually a Harvest Moon character, has a spot. So I felt bad for poor little Kevin, and decided to start a story with him as one of the main characters.

And reviews are always great! So feel free to drop one.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

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"_Is there someone else… you love?"_

There wasn't anyone else, Kevin told himself as he laid down on the bed that squeaked in protest, running his hand through his hair in exasperation. There was only her, Candace. And in response, as if determined to ruin everything that could and should be right, the same face that had flitted across his mind earlier, did so again.

So maybe she wasn't the first girl he fell in love with in this town. But that didn't mean she couldn't be the next girl he fell in love with. It didn't mean she wasn't already the girl he was in love with.

Because Candace was everything he had ever wanted. She was sweet, and she was kind, innocent and shy. There was no reason not to love her. But if by some incomprehensible reason he didn't, shouldn't the fact that she loved him be more than enough to make him reciprocate her feelings?

He was sure it was. Because when someone came along that was everything you could ever dream for, and they tell you that they love you, it was only natural to love them back. Not completely satisfied with this conclusion, but enough so to justify dropping the matter inside his head, he closed his eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Once he was asleep, he had a dream, so realistic it made him want to puke. It was a dream of what could have been. He was happy in the dream, and that made it that much more sickening when he woke up; his back, palms and faced drenched in sweat—with tears threatening to reveal themselves from his squinted eyes.

_You're pathetic._

He laughed to himself lightly as he thought of the words, said by the one person he use to care for more than anyone else. He laughed, because they were right. He was pathetic—beyond pathetic. Even though he had a girl waiting for him, a girl who loved him, even though he had Candace… _Even though he had Candace now…_ he let his mind trail off, not wanting to finish the sentence, because that would be admitting to what he had been so fervently denying for so long.

A small and quiet knock, to his great relief, sounded from outside the door—giving him good reason not to finish the dangerous thoughts that were attempting to intrude inside his mind. He quickly and eagerly pulled himself up from his seat on the ground and opened the door, to reveal a blue haired, gray eyed girl, holding a small basket in her hands.

"Candace," he said, slightly surprised to see her standing at his doorstep. It was usually the other way around. She had visited his home a few times in the past few years, but more often than not, it was him who would trail his way down to her home at the tailor's shop to visit.

She held up the basket in her hands, her arms quivering as she did so. "I made breakfast for us…if you haven't already eaten," she said as her face turned slightly pink, and an embarrassed smile formed across her lips as she brought the basket back down, holding it tightly in between her arms.

Kevin looked down at her, a smile also forming across his face as he watched her fidget uncomfortably. He reached out, taking the basket from her arms, while twining his hand with hers.

"I'm starved."

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I wrote and rewrote this chapter about, no joke, twenty times. I'm still not satisfied with it, but I finally just gave up.

Review please. :)


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